Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

Researchers at Rice University are reporting success in using a nanoparticle as an emergency treatment for traumatic brain injuries.The research could also improve brain injury treatment for stroke victims and organ transplant patients. The nanoparticle, which was developed at Rice University, is polyethylene glycol-hydrophilic carbon clusters (PEG-HCC). It's already being tested in cancer treatment, where it has shown itself to be a powerful antioxidant. In the current research, the Rice team took PEG-HCCs effectiveness as an antioxidant one step further, by using it to counter something called reactive oxygen species (ROS)after a traumatic brain injury, cells release an excessive amount of an ROS called superoxide (SO) into the blood. The research, which was published in the journal ACS Nano (Antioxidant Carbon Particles Improve Cerebrovascular Dysfunction Following Traumatic Brain Injury), found that PEG-HCC provides a balance to the blood counteracting the effects of the SO when the bodys natural enzymes become overwhelmed by the ROS. Superoxide is the most deleterious of the reactive oxygen species, as its the progenitor of many of the others, says James Tour, Rice chemist and a co-author of the paper, in the university press release covering the research.If you dont deal with SO, it forms peroxynitrite … Continue reading →

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pate Rehabilitation, delivering evidence-based treatment and support programs for individuals recovering from acquired brain injuries, today announced its participation in the Fort Worth Safe Communities Coalitions bicycle helmet safety event. Pate will be handing out their donated helmets on Friday, August 31, at Forest Oak Middle School to students who arrive on their bicycles, skateboards or scooters without any head protection. Students wearing a helmet will be rewarded with a free ice cream coupon donated by Texas Dairy Queen, Blue Bell Ice Cream and Braums Ice Cream and Dairy Store. Those seen not wearing a helmet will be educated on the citys bicycle helmet ordinance by participating Fort Worth police officers and firefighters. In Fort Worth, children and teens under age 18 are required by law to wear a helmet at all times while riding a bicycle, skateboard or scooter. The penalty for failure to wear a helmet is $50 for the first incident and $100 for the second. As a member of the Fort Worth Safe Communities Coalition Child Injury Task Force, we are honored to work together in their efforts to increase helmet safety awareness and help prevent bicycle-related injuries this school year, said Kent Hayden, … Continue reading →

By David Armstrong - 2012-08-28T14:14:58Z Allstate Corp. (ALL), the second-largest U.S. auto insurer, is seeking fraud damages in a lawsuit alleging that a Florida brain-injury facility warehoused patients who were beaten and abused by staff. The suit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Tampa, seeks $7.6 million that the insurer says it paid the Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation to treat its claimants, as well as triple damages under federal racketeering laws and other costs. Allstate alleges patients from Michigan, which mandates unlimited lifetime medical benefits for automobile injury coverage, were recruited to the Florida facility through an aggressive marketing campaign that promised an array of services that were never provided. Some patients washed the cars of the centers employees, an activity that was considered vocational training, according to the lawsuit. Wayne J. Miller, an attorney representing the facility, known as FINR, said in an e-mail that he was confident that this matter will ultimately be resolved in FINRs favor. The lawsuit, which also named FINR owner Joseph Brennick as a defendant, follows a Bloomberg News report last month on dozens of cases of alleged abuse at the facility. Patients families or state agencies have accused FINR of abuse … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Aug. 26, 2012) Treatment with an agent that blocks the oxidation of an important component of the mitochondrial membrane prevented the secondary damage of severe traumatic brain injury and preserved function that would otherwise have been impaired, according to a research team from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Graduate School of Public Health and Department of Chemistry in a report published online August 26 in Nature Neuroscience. Annually, an estimated 1.7 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) due to traffic accidents, falls, assaults and sports participation, said the study's senior author Hlya Bayr, M.D., associate professor, Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She added that 52,000 of those injured die, and 85,000 are left with significant disability. "We don't yet have a specific therapy for TBI, but can provide only supportive care to try to ease symptoms," Dr. Bayr said. "Our study drug shows promise as a neuroprotective agent that might help address this important public health problem." For the study, the research team conducted a global assessment of all the phospholipids in rat brain cells. This revealed that damage from TBI was nonrandom and mostly involved cardiolipin, a phospholipid … Continue reading →

Public release date: 26-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Anita Srikameswaran SrikamAV@upmc.edu 412-578-9193 University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences PITTSBURGH, Aug. 26, 2012 Treatment with an agent that blocks the oxidation of an important component of the mitochondrial membrane prevented the secondary damage of severe traumatic brain injury and preserved function that would otherwise have been impaired, according to a research team from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Graduate School of Public Health and Department of Chemistry in a report published online today in Nature Neuroscience. Annually, an estimated 1.7 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) due to traffic accidents, falls, assaults and sports participation, said the study's senior author Hlya Bayr, M.D., associate professor, Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She added that 52,000 of those injured die, and 85,000 are left with significant disability. "We don't yet have a specific therapy for TBI, but can provide only supportive care to try to ease symptoms," Dr. Bayr said. "Our study drug shows promise as a neuroprotective agent that might help address this important public health problem." For the study, the research team conducted a global assessment … Continue reading →

By Misti Crane The Columbus Dispatch Saturday August 25, 2012 6:24 AM The injuries are invisible, complicated to treat and common among those returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Traumatic brain injury was diagnosed in more than 178,000 service members between 2000 and 2010, and some estimates say the actual toll could be as high as 400,000. A new, Ohio-based nonprofit foundation called Resurrecting Lives is working to encourage better treatment and research and to provide help for returning troops with brain injuries who are trying to return to civilian life. Today, theyll partner with Central Ohio American Charities to raise money at a trapshoot at Black Wing Shooting Center, 3722 Rt. 36 in Delaware. Those who wish to shoot will pay $200. Others are encouraged to attend and donate whatever theyd like, said Michele Gire, outreach coordinator with the charity group and mother of two sons who suffered brain injuries while serving in the Marine Corps. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 3p.m. Several veterans will attend, including Gires 25-year-old son, Mason Blankenship of Akron. Blankenship was injured in 2008 while serving in Afghanistan. A mortar hit the truck he was traveling in, and he was knocked … Continue reading →

COEUR d'ALENE - A 21-year-old father was sentenced Friday for the felony offense of injury to a child for the major brain injury his then 20-day-old son suffered while in his care last summer. A doctor said the injury was not accidental and is common with shaken babies. James D. Blanchard, of Coeur d'Alene, will spend up to the next year in prison completing a program chosen by the Idaho Department of Correction. Through the program, Blanchard may receive treatment and will be evaluated, and then is expected to return to Coeur d'Alene for another hearing in front of 1st District Court Judge John Luster. Luster sentenced Blanchard to a term of imprisonment of seven to 15 years, but retained jurisdiction and will evaluate whether further imprisonment or probation is appropriate once the prison program is completed. Kootenai County Deputy Prosecutor Robert Green asked Luster to sentence Blanchard to seven to 15 years in prison. Blanchard's son, Noah, suffered the brain injury on July 24 of last year, while Blanchard was watching Noah by himself while the mother, Angelina Rey, went to get some Chinese food for dinner. The couple lived with their new child at an apartment at 1042 … Continue reading →

Nanoparticles help stabilise bloodflow in the brain By Charles Walford PUBLISHED: 08:36 EST, 24 August 2012 | UPDATED: 09:40 EST, 24 August 2012 Victims of serious brain trauma could be saved by an injection of nanoparticles in the moments after injury, researchers have found. The findings could be used in emergency situations by medics and even battlefield doctors help treating soldiers on the front line, they say. Combined polyethylene glycol-hydrophilic carbon clusters - which are already being tested to enhance cancer treatment - can help restore balance to the brain's vascular system by stabilising bloodflow. PEG-HCC, as it is known, may bring great benefits to the emergency treatment of brain-injury victims and help those with mild injuries, scientists say. Life-saver: The technique could help soldiers in the moments after suffering serious head injury It's antioxidant properties can help in the event of too much oxygen on the brain, they claim. The particle is being developed at Rice University and tested in collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine. More: Injection of nanoparticles could help save lives of victims of serious brain injury such as soldiers in battle … Continue reading →

23-08-2012 15:01 The goal of Burke's intensive brain injury program is to return you to the most active and productive lifestyle possible, following a traumatic or acquired brain injury. Under the direction of our neurologist, the professionals on the team will assess your medical and rehabilitation needs and work with you to establish your individual goals. In close collaboration, the team designs and implements your treatment program. To learn more, simply fill out the Request a Call Back form on , and a member of our team will contact you. Located in White Plains, New York, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital's Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program attracts brain-injury patients from Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and Connecticut. Burke also welcomes brain-injury patients from across the country and around the world. See more here: Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program in New York - Video … Continue reading →

By David Armstrong - 2012-08-23T21:10:29Z You need to enable Javascript to play media on Bloomberg.com Play FINR Staff Member Allegedly Pushes Patient Down A Florida brain-injury center facing allegations of abuse has been ordered to move dozens of its patients to other facilities, according to a state report released today. The Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation, one of the largest facilities of its kind in the country, is treating patients without brain injuries -- a breach of its license, say Florida regulators. During a surprise inspection earlier this month, state officials say they found that 50 of 98 patients whose records were reviewed did not meet the licensing criteria for treatment at the centers main facility near Wauchula, about 50 miles Southeast of Tampa. The state said the institute, commonly called FINR, must submit a plan to relocate those patients to a facility that is appropriate to meet their needs. The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration also found that FINR was keeping patients too long, another violation of its transitional living facility license. It ordered the center to develop a new protocol for discharging patients. Wayne J. Miller, an attorney representing FINR, didnt immediately return messages seeking comment. See … Continue reading →